


they might be crazy

by EmotionalSupportPuma



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Family Bonding, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-12
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:34:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22671073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmotionalSupportPuma/pseuds/EmotionalSupportPuma
Summary: Fiona wants to take Maya out on their first mission since she nearly died. She agrees that leaving Sasha to watch Ava while they're gone will be fine, because really, how much trouble can they get into at an abbey?
Relationships: Fiona/Maya (Borderlands)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	they might be crazy

**Author's Note:**

> title is a lyric from the song family by mother mother!

"Come on, My. It's gonna be our first job together in, what? Six years?" 

Maya looked over at her girlfriend balefully. The borderline-begging and pleading wasn't making the decision any easier on her. Yeah, it was about time she got back into the Vault hunting scene. It had taken months to recover from the loss of her powers. This would be her first ever mission without them. That alone would have been enough to send her waffling, but Maya wasn't just thinking about herself anymore either.

"What about the remains of the COV? They'd probably love to get their hands on Ava, to avenge their idols." Maya spat, not for the first time that day.

"She's not a baby and you know that. She learned from the best."

It was a subtle way of pointing out that Ava was the Siren now, not her. Part of Maya wished that she would just up and say it aloud. So that she had a reason to argue and feel sorry for herself, but that would be childish and they both knew it. Fiona was being as kind as she could about the subject.

"Sometimes it isn't enough to be a Siren." She sighed and pushed the unhappiness bubbling within her down, "It can't guarantee that she'll be safe."

Fiona laced their fingers together, "And you being here with her won't guarantee that either. Come on, what's the harm in us going out on one little job?"

"I'd still feel better if one of us was here with her."

"Does it have to be us? Cause, I think I know someone who would be happy to do us a favor for the evening." 

Even before Fiona could elaborate, the crooked smile was enough to make her stomach flip. Maya had the most peculiar feeling that this wasn't going to end well.

___

"This is  _ not _ me being babysat." 

"Yes, we know this Ava, but-" Maya tried to finish her worrying, but was swiftly cut off.

"I have your echonumber  _ and _ Fiona's  _ and _ half of the other Crimson Raiders." 

Sasha piped in brightly, "And I'm going to be right here with her. Go have fun on your date."

Maya tried to glare at her, but was already being tugged away by Fiona. Sometimes she forgot that the sisters both had snark for days. The impression that would leave on Ava was yet another thing to add onto her list of worries. She and Fiona could already run circles around Maya when it came to a duel of sarcastic wits, was she really going to let Sasha fan the flames further?

Apparently she wasn't going to get any more say in the matter. Fiona put a hand on either side of her and marched them straight to the fast-travel station. Those mischievous green eyes implored her to lighten up for a little bit, to focus on their job. Go clear out some bandit slum on Pandora, simple enough for her first day back on the job, right? Maya took a deep breath and made a serious effort not to look over her shoulder. This would be a piece of cake and then they'd be back on Athenas before she knew it.

___

As soon as the two of them flickered out of existence, Sasha rounded on her.

"Okay, so now that they're gone, lets-"

"You aren't my babysitter, so don't start acting like it." Ava growled.

For a moment Sasha looked dumbfounded by the outburst and then she began to laugh.

"Babysitter? No way,  _ kid _ , I'm pretty much your aunt." A toothy grin worked its way across her face, "I'm here to get you in  _ so _ much trouble."

Ava narrowed her eyes skeptically, trying to judge the sincerity of the words. Before today she'd only ever seen Sasha when snooping around while Fiona and her sister talked over the echo. From time to time she might have heard a called out greeting or farewell, but it wasn't often that Ava was around for actual echo conversations. 

Eventually she settled for a wary sort of interest. She eyed Sasha like a stray cat watching a stranger, ready to spring away at the first sign of trouble. The last thing she wanted was to be roped into some bogus scheme where Ava was just going to be watched over like a little kid. But if they really were going to get in some trouble? Well, that sounded a hundred times more interesting than just practicing her Siren powers, like she had planned.

"You know, Maya isn't actually my mom. And besides, Fiona's just her girlfriend, so I doubt that  _ really _ makes you my aunt."

"Yeah? Well, Felix picking me and my sister up off the street didn't make him our father, but we sure did act a lot like a family."

She raised an eyebrow, "I thought Fiona said he tried to backstab you guys?" 

"Eh, we were already adults by then. I hate the man's guts, but he did a damn good job of teaching us." Sasha shrugged nonchalantly, as if it were a perfectly normal thing to say about your father figure.

Ava decided at that point that she liked Sasha. There was still time for things to get boring, but for the moment she enjoyed the prospect of an adult who wasn't going to treat her like a fragile little kid. Besides, this was also a chance to learn embarrassing stories about her mentor's girlfriend. She was going to have  _ such _ an upper hand on Fiona the next time they got into an argument.

"So, you seemed to have a plan?"

"I figured who better to show me the best marks on Athenas than you?"

Ava glanced away, "I mean, yeah, I'd be the person to ask. This isn't some sorta test, is it? Not gonna immediately call Maya if I tell you?"

"Kid...you're talking to someone who often professionally robs people." She shot back, almost incredulous over the questioning.

"But how am I supposed to trust you? Fiona never teaches me anything to do with being a con artist."

"That probably has something to do with Maya threatening to break up with her again if she does."

"Lame." Ava muttered under her breath, "Alright, I'll show you some nice marks, but you gotta do something for me in return."

"Not tell Maya?"

"...okay two things. First, yes, please don't tell Maya. Second, you've  _ got _ to teach me some tricks. Everyone here has caught onto mine and I haven't nicked anything good in ages."

"Deal."

They shook on it, sporting a matching pair of wicked grins. Somewhere off on Pandora she knew that Maya and Fiona were probably exchanging worried looks. That parental sense they had that was so, so good at throwing Ava under the bus. Although, if she thought about it, maybe it wasn't such a sixth sense after all. If Fiona helped to raise her baby sister then she'd know better than anyone when a troublesome, pickpocketing teen was doing something they shouldn't be. 

___

The anxiety rolling deep in her gut didn't dissipate even as the dusty Pandoran ground materialized underneath her feet. It had been years since the last time Maya had been here. Under other circumstances she would have expected a nostalgic comfort to greet her, but instead she found a hollow feeling in her heart. The last time she'd been on Pandora she had been a Siren. 

Dark and all-encompassing, the hole only grew as the seconds ticked by. Every nook and cranny held a memory of the person she used to be. Maya had thought that after months of recovery the ache would diminish. Silver-blue eyes looked out over the familiar landscape and fought back tears. A warm hand slid around her arm, squeezing softly over skin that looked wrong without bright tattoos.

"How are you feeling?" Fiona asked quietly.

"I'm not sure."

It was a little white lie. Of course Maya knew how she was feeling, angry and grieving and oh so full of self-pity. But she didn't want anyone to know that. She had always been tough, had been an unshakable Siren for so long, she wasn't willing to relinquish that spark along with her powers. The words didn't appear to convince her girlfriend, as Fiona eyed her with a heavy dose of worry.

"Come on, we've got a job to do." 

Maya kissed her forehead lightly and marched off before she could be answered. Their destination wasn't far from the station, but the lack of a Catch-A-Ride nearby meant it wouldn't be a quick start. By the time they reached a little shack tucked in a corner that she would never have found if it hadn't been marked on her map, Maya remembered just why she loved the atmosphere of her home planet so much. Pandora was swelteringly hot on a good day.

When the woman they were taking the job for stepped out, she fell back and allowed Fiona to do the talking. Maya wasn't nearly as good at judging one's character. She didn't particularly think they might be doing a job for someone who intended to harm them, but it was always better to be safe than sorry. After the discussion was through, Fiona turned to her with a smile.

"How do you feel about spiderants?"

Maya narrowed her eyes, "I thought we were supposed to be fetching things for her, not exterminating bugs."

"Technically we only need to get some of their eggs, but I doubt the damn things will let us have them without a fight."

"Hm." She tilted her head, "I won't say no to some shooting practice. Lead the way."

The short drive to a cluster of spiderant nests was uneventful, save for running over a couple of skags. Hopping out to face the aggravated spiderants sent a spike of adrenaline pumping through her heart. It was the most alive Maya had felt in months, shooting the creatures down with ease that surprised her. Despite all the time that had passed her aim and swift instincts didn't feel dulled in the slightest.

She tossed a wild-eyed grin over to her girlfriend. Unfortunately, Fiona was too busy focusing on her own targets to notice it. Green eyes darting from spiderant to spiderant as she chose the precise one to take out each time. Affection trickled through the rush of excitement, unable to stop herself from taking a moment to observe her partner in action.

It was entirely the wrong thing to do. While she was distracted a surprisingly large spiderant, possibly a knight or rook, clambered out of a nest and charged at her. The instincts that she had thought were smooth as ever, reacted in a rusty display of panic. Maya raised a hand to phaselock the creature and the spiderant continued to charge at her unimpeded. 

Fiona tried to throw herself in Maya's direction, to shove her out of the path, but she wasn't quick enough. The creature rammed its thick-plated head into the both of them and sent them sprawling backwards. Maya felt the air get punched out of her lungs as she hit the ground. The impact shook her body to the core, clicking her teeth together painfully. 

Despite all of her best efforts to scramble to her feet, all she managed was to roll onto her side and cough violently. Fiona was back on her feet in an instant. Shooting to draw the spiderants attention away long enough for Maya to sit up and continue the attack as well. Together they felled the large creature, the sight of their savior falling was enough to send the smaller ones skittering away. From there Fiona made for the nests, while she kept an eye out for any spiderants that were brave enough to start attacking again.

After collecting the eggs they retreated to the vehicle. Instead of driving back immediately, Fiona turned to look at her seriously. She knew what was coming next and forced herself not to bristle unhappily because of that. It was bad enough that she had tried to use her Siren powers in a moment of panic, discussing that was the last thing she wanted to do.

"It's okay, you know." Fiona murmured.

"Is it? My mistake could have gotten the both of us killed back there."

"Well, I guess it's a good thing you made sure we're both hooked up to the New-U system."

Anger flashed through Maya at the words, "Since when do you trust that? You're always the  _ first _ to bring up how unreliable it is."

"I-" 

Fiona recoiled with wide eyes, no doubt surprised by the sudden shift in hostility between them. Hurt sprang behind that deep green and she chewed on her lip instead of responding to Maya. The twinge of guilt wasn't enough to quell the grief and unhappiness burning in her heart.

"When the New-U spit me back out on Athenas I nearly  _ bled out,  _ Fiona. My body was practically in pieces because of what that fucker did to me."

The stream of words stopped suddenly as the memories flashed on the backs of her eyelids, squeezed shut as they were. Even worse were the words that Fiona had liked to spout so often before they broke up,  _ you're as likely to spawn in still injured as you are to not come back at all! _ Whatever it was that Troy had done to her, dissolving her body into dust, it had been drastic enough that Maya should never have come back at all. By a sheer stroke of luck she did respawn, but her body was so torn apart that she might as well have died right then.

Across from her Fiona's eyes began to prick with tears. Guilt took over in a moment of clarity, strong enough to make her nauseous. Of course Fiona knew how bad things had been. She'd thought Maya  _ had _ died, grieved for her and attended what little funeral the Crimson Raiders could manage while still trying to stop the Calypsos. It was cruel of her to point that out so angrily, god, what if she had lashed out like that at Ava?

Maya sighed and wiped the beginnings of tears from her own eyes, "Sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

"None of this is going to be easy. I know that, you know that." Her girlfriend spoke softly enough that she had to strain to hear, "You're going to mess up like that again and again. Maya you spent your  _ entire _ life as a Siren...you might never  _ stop _ trying to use those powers."

There was something about the words that left her feeling utterly gutted. She could see the sense of it, hell, there were still days where she suffered the effects of growing up in the corrupt abbey. Maya wasn't a Siren anymore. She would never be a Siren again. This wasn't a bad dream that she could will away with enough effort, it was something that would stay with her for the rest of her life. And just like with the scars of her childhood she could learn to live with this weight. In this moment, however, Maya didn't  _ want _ to live with it. She wanted things to go back to the way they were.

She wanted her Siren powers back.

Tears pooled in the corners of silver-blue eyes despite all of her best efforts to wrangle them away. A sharp betrayal of weakness, baring to the world exactly how broken Maya still was even though her wounds had long-since healed. Her skin was awash with pale scars to show that, but her mind? Her heart? Months later they were angry, red and raw. Ready to bleed themselves dry at the slightest provocation.

"Maybe we should go back." She spoke carefully, despite the feelings waiting to spring free.

The words she didn't say hung in the air,  _ maybe I'm not ready to be doing this yet _ . Fiona eyed her with an unreadable expression for long enough that she started to fidget self-consciously. Then she looked away and tilted her head to the side, like a cat deciding on whether or not to bat that glass off the table. Maya felt the corner of her mouth quirk up the slightest amount.

"We've got more to do for this job." 

"I'm worried about Ava." She lied.

Fiona snorted and turned back, "She's got Sasha with her and Sasha's an adult, you know. How much trouble can the two of them possibly be getting into at an  _ abbey _ ?"

___

As it turned out, the answer to that question was "a whole lot".

Because one lesson on how to spot nice items for the taking turned into two and then several, as the reality of Ava's prowess was revealed. Ava was an orphan who learned how to take what she needed to survive, but she had no finesse. What she really needed was someone to show her the  _ right _ way to be a...well, any sort of thief really. She needed a teacher.

Sasha knew that her explanations alone wouldn't be enough for this. At the end of the day Fiona had been the pickpocket, the hustler, the brains  _ and _ the brass of the outfit. Sasha was good at picking out a target, at reeling them in and convincing them that nothing was amiss, but her sister was the one who went in for the kill. It really was a shame that Maya had forbidden her girlfriend from teaching Ava how to be a  _ real _ criminal. 

So, instead she had turned to the old aids that had helped her and Fiona grow into their talents as teenagers. Namely the seven bells mannequin that they'd practice their pickpocketing on. Unfortunately a practice dummy could only help for so long. Ava lost interest shortly after getting the hang of it and Sasha was easily talked into a more hands on approach. 

Which was how the two of them ended up scaling the side of a building in a blind panic, after a pickpocketing gone wrong. 

Adrenaline spiked in her veins as her heart pumped along excitedly. There was something different about being the more experienced person during a daring escape. Sasha had always been the little sister, the tinier one, the baby of the group. Putting your trust in the other person was a humbling experience. Now instead of running ahead Sasha was quick to lift Ava up onto a roof, before struggling to pull herself over the lip of it too.

From there it was remarkable how naturally she fell into the role. Ava knew which direction was best to head in and Sasha was quick to spot shortcuts that would have been inaccessible to the kid without help. At one point they reached a narrow overpass and Ava froze in uncertainty. She rushed passed and held her arms out for balance as she walked along stone scarcely wider than rope. 

"Come on, just keep your eyes on me." She called over her shoulder.

It was too dangerous to try and turn around for a look, she could only hope that Ava was brave enough to follow suit. As soon as she reached the other side Sasha spun around. The kid was wobbling along at a much slower pace, but she was a quick learner. Moments after she stepped back Ava threw herself onto the solid ground of the next roof. She cackled, probably from the fear and adrenaline of such a feat. 

From there Sasha spotted what she considered to be their best bet for shelter. A tall structure that looked rather like a tower, but appeared to have no easily accessible entrances if you weren't climbing the roofs as they were. It took a significant amount of effort to scale the side of it using pipes and other various handholds. Ava tried to scramble back down a few times, but eventually allowed Sasha to show her how to safely keep climbing. 

When they reached the flattened top of the structure, she collapsed onto her back and started laughing in disbelief once more. Sasha sat beside her and grinned ear to ear. It wasn't long before her own manic laughter joined Ava's. That had certainly been a hell of a way to bond with what was essentially her sister's adopted kid. Looking back, when she had been Ava's age that probably would have been the quickest way to bond with her. 

Sitting back and glancing over at the kid, with her indigo hair spilling over her eyes as she tried to breath even again, Sasha could almost imagine that she  _ was _ family. She knew that her sister was in love with Maya. That Fiona was more in love than she'd ever seen in their entire lives. Ava might outgrow her training under Maya and disappear from their lives one day. She hoped that wouldn't happen any time soon, for Fiona and Maya's sake. 

Once Ava could breathe evenly without bursting into a fit of giggles, she spoke up, "That was crazy! Do you know how mad Maya's gonna be when that dude tells her we tried to pickpocket him?"

"Who said we only  _ tried _ ?"

Sasha grinned wickedly as she twisted her wrist around to reveal the watch they'd originally aimed for. The slack-jawed reaction fueled her ego enough to pull out a wallet with the other hand. For a moment Ava looked like she was going to start laughing again, but then something flashed across her face. She tried unsuccessfully to play it off with a cough and a smile. Sasha felt the rush from earlier start to plummet. 

"Whatsa matter, kid? I didn't go too far, did I?" 

"No- nothing's wrong." Ava startled and folded her arms defensively, "I'm fine! We're fine, it's all good."

She frowned uncertainly, "It's okay that you messed up, you know. The only reason I walked away with the goods is because I've had a lot more practice."

"I said it's whatever. Leave it alone, will you?"

"That tough act might work on Maya, but I was an angry teenager once too." Sasha spat back, "I know what it's like to push everyone else away when you're hurting."

"You don't know anything about me."

"Then why don't you tell me. Tell  _ someone _ . The hurt is never gonna go away if you try to pretend it doesn't exist. Trust me."

Ava glared at her for a tense few moments. The heat in those pale eyes was strong, but there was no bite to it. Sasha wanted to reach out to her, she knew how it felt to be alone in the world at such a young age. But she'd been lucky in that she had Fiona there with her, she'd  _ always _ had Fiona. She didn't think they were close enough yet that Ava could appreciate the gesture. 

"I won't repeat what you say to anyone else, if that makes you feel any better."

"I don't  _ care  _ if anyone knows." Ava snarled as a tear ran down her cheek, "What they think doesn't matter."

"Then what's holding you back?"

"It's  _ me _ ,  _ I'm  _ the problem. I freaking hate that I'm so weak."

Sasha frowned, "Are you talking about how you reacted when you thought Maya was dead? That's not a weakness. Everyone was hurting then."

"But I'm  _ still _ hurting and everyone else has moved on! The only one who can't is just the dumb teenager."

"That's not true. Look at how hard it was for Maya to leave today, I think she's hurting more than she's letting on." She admitted.

"I haven't managed to steal anything since...since it happened." When Ava spoke again her voice was low.

For once Sasha wasn't sure what to say in return. This was a delicate situation and she had never exactly been the type of person who could dole out healing advice on a whim. Even Fiona, the talker, hadn't been very good at it. When they'd lost their parents Sasha had been young. So young that most of the time she didn't remember them at all. What she could remember was losing Felix, the sharp sting of betrayal and the overwhelming anger that had followed after. 

Their situations weren't the same, but perhaps there were still enough similarities between them that it could help. The anger still flared up from time to time, even seven years later. It wasn't something she had been consciously aware of until just now. 

"When Felix betrayed us, I got mad." Sasha started with soft, uncertain words, "So mad that sometimes it was all I thought about. It made me reckless."

Ava just snorted, like she was unimpressed, but eyed her all the same. Waiting to hear the rest. 

"And we were in the middle of this crazy scheme with Rhys and Vaughn and Vault Hunters. We went up against a monster. I...let that anger make me reckless and stupid at the worst time."

There was nothing from the peanut gallery this time, as pale eyes fell to her hands. 

"That mistake cost me my life." Sasha paused long enough to make sure she had Ava's attention, "Turns out Felix had left me a stupid little gift, a watch of some sort. Worked a lot like those New-U stations. It's the only reason I'm still here today."

"Fiona's never mentioned that."

"She...Fiona likes to pretend it didn't happen, I think. She was so distraught when she thought I was dead. I think that if she admits it happened, it might break her, ya know? Losing your little sister."

"The only family she ever had." Ava added quietly.

"Yep. It's not the healthiest way to cope, but it gets Fiona through the day and I guess that's what matters in the end."

"Are you saying I should just pretend Maya didn't die?"

"No, that's...not it. I don't know what my moral is supposed to be here. Maybe "don't try to ignore the hurt" like Fiona does. Or don't let it it make you stupid, like it did to me."

Silence greeted her words for long enough that Sasha accepted she probably wasn't going to get an answer at all. That was fine, all she wanted was for something she had said to make it through to Ava. Loss, or the near loss, of someone was never something to be worked through alone. As she mulled over the situation, Sasha wondered if perhaps she should speak to Maya when they returned. Being the one who nearly died was its own sort of demon to overcome.

Ava looked out over the landscape with an unreadable expression. Thoughtful and dark and hopeful all at the same time. She followed her gaze and really took in the sight of Athenas from this far up. It was breathtaking in a way that Sasha didn't often experience. Pandora wasn't the kind of planet that looked beautiful from any angle. Well, actually she had quite liked the view of it from space. In a way that was fitting, that the only way the shithole could be stunning was from far, far away. 

Eventually she turned away and fixed Sasha with a smile that only looked a little forced, "Can I go try again? I'm stealing  _ something _ today, no matter what."

"Have at it, kid. But if you get caught you're on your own this time. Can't always rely on someone else to bail you out."

___

Sometimes, when you've lived off-planet for so long, it was easy to forget just how batshit everyone on Pandora was. Maya could remember the countless missions from when she'd been a real Vault Hunter. When she'd been a Siren. But damn, it really was no exaggeration that this planet thrived on the completely and utterly weird. 

Coming out here was supposed to be a simple get-back-into-the-hang-of-things mission. Instead Fiona had signed them up to get cake ingredients for a crazy woman, hence the spiderant eggs and everything else they'd tracked down. Now they were manhandling the cake layers into a borrowed vehicle. To go deliver them to a bandit's den for their leaders birthday and then add the candles. Which were actually dynamite. God, Pandora really needed to take a chill pill.

When she got behind the wheel and glanced over at Fiona, she had to fight off a laugh. They had the cake boxed up and carefully set between her girlfriend's feet. She looked about as nervous as a newborn fawn, legs splayed awkwardly around the box and eyes anxiously glued to it. It would have been hilarious if they weren't about to go use it to blow up some bandits. Maybe it  _ was _ hilarious and Maya had just grown soft at the abbey.

"Okay, you're gonna need to drive, like, really slowly or this is gonna be a mess when we get there."

She snorted, "Hun...it's gonna be a mess by the time we leave regardless."

"But I really don't want this to be all over  _ me _ ."

"Alright, I'll drive carefully. Just for you."

After a painstakingly slow trip, they finally arrived at the birthday party for the 'Fist King'. The name honestly kind of reminded Maya of when they'd gone to recruit Brick again. It was hard to fight off the nostalgia with that memory. So much had changed in seven years, a time frame that barely seemed long at all as it had gone by. Life was funny like that.

She helped Fiona get the cake set up on an old minecart, waiting patiently as the candles were placed. Occasionally when they were out on missions together, she had noticed that about her girlfriend. When she could help it Fiona preferred things to be a certain way. Maya thought that perhaps it had something to do with how thoroughly she made up her plans. Thinking was Fiona's Vault Hunter skill after all. 

"Go on. Light the candles and send it down." 

Fiona glanced at her, "Sure you don't want to do the honors? It's your first mission back, after all."

"Nope, I'm gonna stand over here by the car where I don't have to worry about the explosion." Man, the abbey really  _ had _ made her soft.

"Suit yourself!"

For all the effort she made to seem cool, calm and collected, it was remarkably easy for Fiona to transform into an excited kid again. Whenever there was something even remotely fun to do for a job she always offered that part up first, like she was trying to hide how much she would enjoy doing it, and then when Maya or whoever else declined she would instantly get a lot less serious.

She shook her head and leaned back against the technical with her arms folded. Running jobs again was one thing, but Maya was honestly starting to drag by this point. Months in recovery had left her body a lot weaker than it used to be, her energy reserves depleting far quicker than they used to. She was looking forward to finishing this up and returning to Athenas. What she wasn't quite ready for was seeing just how much trouble Ava had managed to get into, because she  _ knew _ something would have happened. 

Fiona lit the candles and looked back at her, "Last chance, babe!"

"Please kick it down the shaft before you blow yourself up."

With an amount of flourish usually reserved for moments when dynamite  _ wasn't  _ a handful of seconds away from detonating, Fiona shoved the minecart down into the bandit den. For a long moment there was nothing to hear except the squeal of rusty wheels on metal and the whisper of wind over the land. 

And then there was a roar. Quiet in the beginning, a rumbling growl that Maya could feel somewhere deep in her chest, like the moments before a laugh broke loose. The steady travelling of the explosion through the mineshaft. For a moment the air outside felt dangerously stagnant and then flames burst from the tunnel, the roar rising to a crescendo that dug into her ears. Fiona jumped back with a startled yelp, but made no effort to join her beside the vehicle. 

With an exuberant wave of her arms, she turned to Maya as if to say ' _ did you see that?' _ . Oh, how excitable and childish her girlfriend could be when no one else was around. Or at least when nobody she was trying to impress was around. She grinned back and shook her head in amusement. In these precious few seconds it felt as though the entirety of Pandora had shrunk down to just Maya and Fiona and the flames licking behind her. A strangely nostalgic sort of comfort.

But this planet didn't like it when you let your guard down, when you felt with your heart instead of your instincts. From the depths of the mineshaft came a few screaming voices. Fiona spun around and fumbled for her weapon as three bandits crashed through the flames. One of them collapsed immediately and convulsed as the fire engulfed him completely. Another ignored them completely, beating at various parts of her body in a vain, desperate attempt to snuff out the flames.

The last one appeared to be made of stronger stuff. He lunged at Fiona with his buzzsaw raised, the flickering orange trailing over his body nothing more than an afterthought. There wasn't anything Maya could do to stop the attack. She was too far away, Fiona's own body blocked the shot,  _ she couldn't phaselock _ . 

Fiona crumpled to the ground as soon as the buzzsaw hit her, unceremoniously dropping in a way that was anything but natural. Hot, livid tears pricked in the corner of silver eyes. Her body functioning on autopilot as Maya lifted her weapon and emptied an entire clip into the bandit. The tips of her fingers began to lose feeling and just how she stumbled over to the two bodies escaped her conscious thought. 

Instead the only thing that she could see was the blistering crimson that painted them. The way it pooled in the dusty ground, forming a nauseating picture in the divots of dirt where Fiona had stood moments before. Her knees hit the puddle with a splash she saw, but didn't feel. 

"Fiona…?" She whispered.

The scratchy word hung unanswered while fire formed a fuzzy backdrop to her ears. Within moments Fiona's skin fractured into digital bits, skittering around and fading out of existence piece by piece. But it didn't happen quickly enough. Maya stared at the space where her head had been with hollow eyes. The warm, sparkling green she was so familiar with had been glazed over. 

A dull ringing worked its way to the forefront of her mind. There was nothing left in her mind except soft cotton and fuzz. Maya couldn't tear her eyes away from the bloody ground, even as they watered and blurred to the point where she couldn't discern more than vague shapes and colors. The only part of her body she could feel was her chest, heaving up sobs with a force that  _ hurt _ . 

"My?" 

She startled violently at the voice and they way it rang with a clarity that nothing else around her did at the moment. Confusion struck Maya mute as she turned to look at Fiona, crouched beside her, prim and proper. Without a speck of blood on her. Green eyes watering nearly as bad as her own, but vivid with life all the same. She cocked her head to the side in an attempt to get the thoughts rolling enough to understand what had happened. 

"Th-there isn't a New-U station for miles."

Oh.

"There isn't." Fiona confirmed with a grim set of her lips.

_ Oh. _

The cotton fluff burned away in the blink of an eye, but it wasn't enough to prevent the sobs from starting up again. It had only felt like moments since Fiona's body disintegrated to the nearest respawn point.  _ Seconds _ . But here her girlfriend was and that could only mean that she'd been sitting here long enough for Fiona to walk back. How long had Maya been sitting here?

"My...I think you should talk to somebody when we get back to Athenas." 

She stared at a point just passed Fiona's shoulder, "I wouldn't know who."

"Then I'll help you find someone. We'll do it together, but babe, I don't think this is negotiable." 

Despite the concern in Fiona's voice, thick enough that she could practically taste it in the air, the thought of refusing to answer crossed her mind. Eventually Maya bared her teeth and nodded slowly. She wished there was someone easy to go and speak to, someone she trusted and respected. But most of the people she would have considered to fill that role were dead. Her first choice would have been Lilith. Another former Siren who had faced death...but even she was gone. There was just  _ so _ much Maya needed to work through.

"Yeah...yeah, you're right."

___

Maya knew better than to expect a clean welcome back to Athenas. She'd been Ava's mentor for long enough to accept that when she wasn't there to hang over every action,  _ something _ was going to go wrong. It was an inevitability by this point. But she had honestly hoped deep down that having Sasha here would have curbed the outcome a little bit. 

Off to the side stood a man, sporting a black eye and a glare vicious enough slice a rakkhive in half. On the other was Sasha and Ava, both of their eyes glued to anything other than her. Maya resisted the urge to sigh for the fifth time in less than three minutes. A headache was beginning to pinch the space behind silver eyes. Fiona tried to offer her a reassuring smile, as though this was all a big misunderstanding. 

"Alright, sir, they've returned your possessions. I'll talk to them and you can head home."

If the man wanted to argue further, he thought better of it. Maya was one of the only people in the abbey not sworn to an oath of non-violence. That was probably as close to retribution as he wanted to get anyways. Once he was out of sight she rounded on the two of them.

Ava rushed to speak before she could, "We can totally explain everything."

"No, we're gonna tell the truth here." Sasha cut her off with a sidelong glance in Maya's direction, "Because I'm not about to be irresponsible."

"You've already failed that."

"Look, yeah, I was giving Ava some pointers on pickpocketing. But the altercation was an accident. The man recognized Ava and thought he could grab her, to get his stuff back. I acted impulsively and punched him 'cause my instinct was to protect her." 

"You shouldn't have needed to protect her in the first place." She pointed out dryly. 

Fiona spoke up, "Actually, I think the whole point of Sasha being here was to protect her."

Maya glared at her girlfriend incredulously, feeling rather like a downed stalker surrounded by skags. Three people well-versed in arguing their points versus her. It was enough to make her reconsider the situation even if it was slight. Deep down she recognized that Fiona had a point, the fight itself was proof that Sasha had been doing what they'd brought her here to do; make sure Ava was safe. But the lessons in thievery? She had always been abundantly clear about where she stood on that matter and Fiona had always respected that. 

The jingling of a belled collar interrupted her train of thought. Hermes bounded over and shimmied up onto Ava's shoulder, a wallet lodged firmly between his jaws. For a moment nobody said a word and then Fiona snorted hard enough in her attempt to hide the laughter that she broke into a coughing fit. Ava just stared at her with a horrified expression, while Sasha looked like she was somewhere between the two of them emotionally. 

"I didn't teach him that!" Ava said.

"I literally haven't seen that thing at all today, so don't look here." Sasha raised her hands defensively.

Fiona was still laughing too hard to even attempt to choke out a clever reply. 

And Maya? Honestly, she was exhausted from the events of the day and this was just a step over the edge. Her sigh had enough force to move the trees around them, the roll of her eyes carrying enough force to send an avalanche over the side of Athenas' many cliffs. Her resolve? Dead as the leaf litter along the streets. 

"I'm going to take  _ this _ -" She said snatching the wallet from Hermes, "back to its owner."

The pointed glare that each of them received added afterwards,  _ and you all better be prepared for the lecture of a lifetime when I get back _ . As Maya stalked away she heard her girlfriend speak up. It wasn't aimed at her, but she slowed subconsciously to hear regardless.

"Okay, if you guys can learn to keep it on the down low, I can  _ probably  _ arrange for Sasha to watch you again from time to time."

She waited to hear Ava's adamant denial over the label of 'being watched'. When none came, Maya glanced over her shoulder curiously. Her apprentice was grinning animatedly at the sisters, eyes brighter than they had been in months. Sasha ruffled her hair affectionately and Fiona pulled her sister into a hug. Something unbearably soft and sweet wrapped it's way around Maya's heart at the sight of it. Recovery hadn't been easy so far, and likely wouldn't be any time soon. 

But she wasn't alone.

**Author's Note:**

> Had this idea kicking around for awhile and finally got it finished up! The initial plan was just a silly family fic about Sasha getting along with Ava, who is pretty much her adopted-niece, and evolved into something with a lot more emotion. If you'd like to see excerpts of my writing, my borderlands tumblr is tannithvibes!
> 
> As always, all comments and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated and I hope y'all have a great day/night!!!


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